1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording/reproducing apparatus capable of reproducing and displaying, on an image display unit, image information input from an image pickup unit or recorded on a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In some known image recording/reproducing apparatuses, such as that shown in FIG. 14 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-60949, a multidirectional operation switch is disposed on a main body. In particular, a multidirectional operation switch discussed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-60949 is configured such that, in a display screen of an image display unit, directions assigned to respective four ends of an operation key are changed according to the rotation and its associated directional changes of the image display unit.
However, since, in the known image recording/reproducing apparatuses described above, the multidirectional operation switch is disposed on the main body, a user's hand (e.g., a left hand) not holding the main body has to be moved to operate the multidirectional operation switch during shooting. Moreover, it is possible that an image display area, such as a liquid crystal monitor, is covered with the hand. The multidirectional operation switch may be difficult to operate depending on the open/close state or rotating state of the image display unit.
Moreover, if, for example, the multidirectional operation switch is not disposed on the same surface as an image display surface of the image display unit, the multidirectional operation switch, which protrudes and thus is noticeable, may adversely affect the design features of the image recording/reproducing apparatus. It is also possible that the user operates the multidirectional operation switch in a wrong direction.
On the other hand, if the multidirectional operation switch is disposed on the same surface as the image display surface of the image display unit, and if an input from the multidirectional operation switch is always accepted, opening and closing of the image display unit may cause erroneous operation. However, leaving a large gap between the multidirectional operation switch and the main body of the image recording/reproducing apparatus to prevent such erroneous operation makes it difficult to reduce the size, weight, and thickness of the apparatus.